100 days later, Gulf oil mess looking better

Thursday

Jul 29, 2010 at 12:01 AMJul 29, 2010 at 3:07 PM

ATLANTA - With BP's blown oil well temporarily capped and a permanent fix progressing, government officials marked the 100th day of the Gulf of Mexico spill yesterday by emphasizing the challenges ahead in resolving one of the worst environmental problems in the nation's history.

ATLANTA - With BP's blown oil well temporarily capped and a permanent fix progressing, government officials marked the 100th day of the Gulf of Mexico spill yesterday by emphasizing the challenges ahead in resolving one of the worst environmental problems in the nation's history.

"I would characterize this as the first 100 days," Coast Guard Rear Adm. Paul Zukunft, the federal on-scene coordinator, said at a news briefing in New Orleans. "We have a lot of work in front of us."

In Congress, lawmakers bickered over proposed rules that would define the offshore industry's future.

On CNN, new BP Chief Executive Robert Dudley offered a qualified assurance that his company's gusher is a thing of the past.

"I think - no guarantees - but I believe there will be no more oil flowing into the Gulf as of the 15th of July," he said, referring to the day crews temporarily sealed the well with a mechanical cap.

One of the most important remaining challenges will be BP's attempt to seal the well, which had been gushing as many as 60,000 barrels of oil per day since the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig. An attempt to tamp down the oil with heavy drilling mud injected from the top - the so-called static kill - probably will begin late Sunday or early Monday.

Then, about Aug. 10, crews will try to intersect the well far undersea with a relief bore that they will use to jam mud and cement into the bottom of the well. That process could take days or weeks.

Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the federal spill-response chief, said yesterday that he has high hopes for the maneuvers.

Since the well was closed with the cap, oil has become increasingly difficult to spot on the surface, although scientists remain concerned about oil beneath the surface.

Gulf Coast residents now are anxious about losing the only work that was available to sidelined fishermen: cleaning up for BP. Allen plans to meet with southern Louisiana residents this morning on "how we transition from a response posture, and, once the well is killed, what needs to be done."

Allen said it is likely that oil would continue coming ashore for four to six weeks. And Zukunft added that there will be much work for crews beyond skimming, including collecting and disposing of about 11 million feet of protective boom that has been strung from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle.

On Capitol Hill, Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., called for an investigation into BP's plans to write off about $10 billion from its federal taxes because of cleanup costs.

"That would be unacceptable," Nelson said in requesting the Senate Finance Committee investigation.

Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-La., called on BP to devote the tax credits to coastal-restoration projects in Louisiana. He also is sponsoring legislation to exempt families' disaster payments from BP from federal taxes.